Oct 1998 - National Capital Balloon Club

October 1998
Volume t'J
_
The Crownlines
I
\
The Newsre 1 r
tbe
The
Be is a co-spons r of
TIle hr' un E. hange of
Oltawa- arleton's rea
Pumpkin en Of, t b'" h Id
Saturday, October 17 from
IO~OO AM-2:00 PM, at lh
. .M,P. r ul1d ( L L~ ur nl
Boulevard),
For 5 per pcr on aam!:) i tl,
kid nd paren g r e
pumpkins (and the chance t
decorat them) fnce-paillli g,
lour of the R. .M.P. stabl _ ild I gam
y
rides, a.uto ra-phs from s me tt \-Vii nmors, and... ee
lis is ~Nhere y u t:ome in!
tethered hall Oll 'd.
J
ationaJ Ca.pital Ballo n lub
wouk! find NCD
il
Lh 'rlilg Iheir baUo n fOr
gra V IY iI CHEO pal ien(s in the a
,atm, a ong wi h
mini-balloon classes (althou.gh it'll b hard. accordin to
rep rts to top Alia
Donald's kid~ rab ing awe orne
expose of bal100nin n' m a. s ap-b. 'e the piclul'
I low.
J
h gills at ,:_,0 l' at the Rotel sit II
hildren·s Hospital of Eastern nt.:''1.rio.
th
Please conta t 'tephanl Jlove at 748-9692 t
if'Y 'r c m ing wi II balloon and liu: I
2 7-6111) if you need more i 1fo a ion.
eve,ryone \",ho was at the ept mb~r 19(h au mpt
t1h:n~. m ! W C.'Ul mak this ork wi h
111
reat Pumpkinrl r t ,and nave lin \ hile
ocializing!
\Ve h
.will r turn, al1d
St ph. nlc Glo er
Plea. e come one, come all- oth as cr
and pil ts. 1 h
hristmasE hang
pc>ClS aboul 2,000 p ople to C<lme
if the weather s good-and III t fthem will ha bill n
tether id~ l' k .. So aI', Glover ustoms Broke
REiMAX. and aj'c 100 are coming an co-sponsoring.
Otl r ball n.s \II uld
weleom as would anyone wh
i willing t h lp I' "'. Besides-it II t: fu !
illS 0
r need
I-Line
INSIDE•..
~ 'S
Welsh
-nle I~' lcllwr· Vtttll planned for "eplem er 19 was
wind d Ul. and 13S been I' scheduled to • lltuntl\Y,
Oct CT n.
TIle event will b
-lothcr lien. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. @
Recipe for Excitement!
@
Had Lucl\ in 3s . . . . . . . ..
@)
Limits of ForC(~a~ ling
Good Deed
0
<D
Cornwall Fly Bay.
fIt)
The Crownlines
2
Re
ioe for an E
citing BaBoon Rid.
Take on beautiful morning,
dd a fI w pil l with 2 hours post-solo
Meet in Navan at the Arena on Colonial Road, and
fly at 4:15 to 4:30.
For good measure add a batch of c ntaminated propane,
After-fly party and bon fire at Stephanie's house in
Navan at 939 Meteor Avenue (same street the arena
is on, just has a different name further along WEST).
Call me at 835~31 06 if you need further directions.
Give the pi!
hiefas p
1a
Ascend to 1200 feet and Ila e BOTH burner'
En5ur~ that B TH
We are planning to have Chilli and Oktoberfest
sausages. Please bring a salad or desert to s are,
JUSl
RSVP on the club hotline @ 247-6111 so we can
plan the food.
to 1!
me out,
ri7. OS won't function.
the excitement level hi h.
e sure the spark er won't re Ii ht
to
burner I'm the [j rst
coupl of 1 ies and,
Hav
See you there!!!
perl nc d r w
break, thr w in a calm nd
gef,
to bum
r' ontinlle to
n me OUl every three blasts.
ivc our p' nge.r th parker, iUld ha e him respond
immcdiat Iy 10 th olllmand 'SPARK",
Stephanie Glover
Moth
I
Hen
Fl. in an area
Who is it v ho car s enou
di c urn c
tud nt pH t?
tOO
h wants mOr of their money
although it doesn t hun but because he truly 10 e to n
and wants to shar the excitement .. ith other .
Who i it ho n rnues to encourag
wly licensed pH -7
l
advi
a d help th
II his former students to
h re there's no place
land lOr about an hour.
t
Finish the fli itt b lancfu1g m the lrst ace ssible fi W.
en ifil c ntllin 50 ow and Ih ir
ntri ution:o>,
And L P It all off by dropin' the n,'clope
fent:e!
Wf a
af d wiT
I realized how much r love "Uoonio or hm cr zy Jam w en
mye above \'II S. ' hr... I'n going t die" and Ihen" oh
II. at
k>-ast I II die doin 's me hin x ilin~"!
nge to
t. Jc n
UT
Rich Ii
U
who
, .1
Janet P
W f
h it' ur' M til r H 'n " Bill Wh Ian who has al\ a)
b n a champi m t u oj
ratulation Bill. n winnill tilt;
all nin
h mpi n hi !
Ti
natHan Hol Air
still needed f, rthe 199
in erJude Ballo n
hould omaCI D cR' tJ b' E­
======.:.:.:.:.:,;.:,n:.;:.s.=n~, or contac1 LIZ Dowd. nnd
From all your ballooning riends and especially
I ur f m
tud n
all
CIJC Hotline: 247-6111
11
F 'ivai
mllli
t'l:
The Crownlines
3
front facing speaker - which all my crew will enjoy!
Bad Luck Always Happens in 3's­
or Multiples Thereof!
If you have known me for any length of time, you will
understand my cynicism here. As a member of the Shannon
family, I own two vehicles- one a gas guzzling Suburban, and
the other a more-economic Nissan. I also own a balloon, and
assorted paraphernalia to go with it (i.e. big red trailer). My
husband, owns a Jeep. Why is this relevant? Because it is
always my stuff that is ensuring our cash flow is healthy-in the
outward direction, and yes I feel guilty about this!
Now, if you have read Carolyn's previous account of our trip in
July to Becancour, you will recall the unhitching of the trailer
and impromptu lessons in trailer re-wiring by the roadside. This
trailer was originally built in Canada and wired accordingly,
then transported to Gennany and England, and, naturally, re­
wired accordingly, and then transported back to Canada and,
naturally, re-wired accordingly. Throughout all of this, the
lights of the trailer have always had 'problems'- never for any
length of time have all the lights worked properly. So, with the
Becancour episode being the straw that breaks the camel's back,
I detoured to Canadian Tire to purchase all the requisite parts to
begin a complete re-wiring of the trailer and truck. I was quite
prepared to begin the task, but I think John took one look at my
splicing job and figured he had better save the trailer from me!
So through the 3 hottest days in the summer, John worked to
make everything right. I feel quite guilty, of course, because 1
was not the one under the trailer.
So, now everything is set to present to Mario in London- right?
Wrong!
On the next flight, my crew says that the radio is not working.
They are right, it isn't. When I get home, I tell John, and, the
next day, he tests it. Guess what-it is working now. Now this is
just weird! Oh well, can't track down a problem which is not
there!
A few days later, [ start off on my trip to London. Just
Christopher alild I, as John has business in Toronto that day, and
we will pick him up on the way. Chris and I get stuck in two
major traffic jams on Highway 7 due to re-paving, and opt for
the route through Peterborough to avoid further delays on the
401. Arriving in Toronto several hours late and unsure ofdirec­
lions, J get lost and opt for the CB to get some directions from
the truck drivers. No luck, I cannot transmit or receive anyrhing.
Eventually 1 find John, and tell him the CB is not working
again. This time it does not fail me - it still isn't working. On
the way to London, between Kitchener and London we hit more
traffic jams - my luck or what? The next day, John and Mario
have a look at the CB. The transmitter/receiver is encased in
hard plastic and has melted all over the inside of the CB - no
wonder it doesn't work. Mario and John set off to buy me a new
(S. John spares no expens and get~ the deluxe version with a
So, now, let's recouflt the 3 events of London itself. First th~re is
the gusty inflate for <f tether on a very hot day (oh why, Mano
are you tethering anyway?) which leaves the skirt and part of the
mouth of the balloon scorched. With Mario returning to
Gennany after the festival- I know who will be getting this
fixed! Then, then I am called to go see Christopher in the truck.
He has just fallen inside the truck, and qas a large bump
emerging from his forehead at an amazing rate. While
administering ice to his forehead, both he and his little friend
learn that balloons are not the only things to breathe firer
Finally, the next morning, as we are taking the balloon down,
Christopher comes to me with big blue eyes and mushy hugs ­
something must be wrong. He brings me to the truck to show me
the result of throwing Mr. Potato Head around in the truck - a
crack on the windshield' As the $$ ring up in my head, I tell
Christopher I am disappointed with him, and Mummy needs to
take a walk - ALONE. Later, as r break down in tears, I tell
John to divorce me now as he will never be rich with me around
- he says he should simply shoot me an put me out of my misery
- oh, the joys of marriage! I am so lucky to have a husband who
subsidizes my sports!
Our return trip from London was totally uneventful, as [ had my
good luck chann with me - John! We hit nary a traffic jam,
though the entire westbound lanes were constantly blocked. We
skirted past an accident on our side of the road with hardly a step
on the brakes, while the other side of the highway was at a
standstill. We did make one concession - we took Highway 15,
instead of Highway 7, to avoid the repaving. The entire trip
home was most enjoyable. I have told John he now has to
accompany me wherever [ go as 1 need his luck l [ am not so sure
he is ready for this!
Sandra Shannon
Remember the NCBC Web Site and e-mail
Allan MacDonald is the webmaster of the new National Capital
Balloon Club website, but he stilt needs contributions to the
website to make it worthwhile, so please suggest/send
appropriate materials! Allan can format it into html format
needed for the site, but YQll have to do the editing and writing.
The new website is up and running at the fol'lowing address:
http://www.intheair.on.ca/ncbc
The NCBC will also soon have an e-mail address, but not the
one previollsly published in The Crownlines. "NCBC" was
already taken! Allan will get back to us ...
The &Ii(o:'..:.,_'
_
4
The Crownlines
Limits of Forecasting
Weather forecasting is not an exact science, and forecasters
don't have perfect and complete information to start from even
if it were. While we may do better than economists at
forecasting (President Harry Trueman once said, "If you take all
of the economists in the world, and line them up end-lo-end,
they would point in all directions..."), we must accept the
limitations of our science.
A good example of this was the evening of Sunday, September
6, at the Festival de montgolfier de Gatineau this year. A cold
front was approaching Ottawa from the northwest, but wasn't
going to reach us until mid-evening. Even then, showers in
association with the front weren't being forecast. (The
aviation forecast for Ottawa Int'l was CYOW
061930Z 062017 26006KT P6SM SCT040 BKN100 TEMPO 2017
BKN040 BKN100 BECMG 1012 30007KT RMK NXT FCST BY
23Z=, and was similar for Gatineau.)
However, by late afternoon it was easy to see that in the warm
airmass we were getting some cumulus clouds growing into
towering cumuli. On the weather radar, a solid line of showers
arong the cold front were evident well off to the northwest, with
some small lines of weak showers and isolated showers much
closer to Ottawa. By eye prior to 6 PM, I saw that some of the
towering cumulus overhead showed signs of precipitating, but
on the radar the showers could be seen dying out as they passed
over GatineauJOttawa. A small line of weak showers moved
over Ottawa shortly before 6:00 PM, not hitting Gatineau at all
and reaching the Ottawa International Airport at 6: 13 PM, and
then dissipating. The convection appeared to be capped (i.e.
pre-vented from growing) by a stable layer in the mid­
atmosphere.
problems and finally gening launch permission, I lifted off in
about the middle of the pack.
Well, we had a gorgeous flight. The winds aloft were from the
northwest as forecast, and we made good progress towards a
landing in Gloucester beyond the built-up area about an hour
later.
While I was flying, though, I could see that the Ville de
Gatineau balloon wasn't having as nice a flight several
kilometres to my southeast. It was obviously inside a good
rainshower. In fact, I then observed four lightning flashes to the
southeast-it was a thunderstonn! (I later learned that a few other
balloons that had departed early-on had also gotten wet.) We
could also see and hear the pavement below us in Gloucester
was wet, with the cars making a nifty noise 1'd never heard
before from the air as they travelled over the wet pavement.
WeB, I was surprised-but we were quite safe where we were.
Note the observations from Ottawa fnt'J Airport listed from 7
AM EDT in the morning until midnight that night. Gatineau
observations were similar, but ended at 8 PM (20:00), so I'm
choosing to list the Ottawa observations. There was a brtef
shower at Ottawa airport at 6: 13 PM, corresponding to the first
small and dissipating line of showers that I saw on thc radar.
The observer at Ottawa Int'l didn't expericnce another shower
until 8:37 PM, and never even reported a thunderstorm (neither
did Gatineau). The winds at both airports were light west­
northwesterly at the surface from the early afternoon onward.
After the announcement of the decision at about 6:00 PM, most
pilots scrambled to prepare for lift-off to take advantage of the
remaining daylight and ensure we would get outside the Ottawa
buill-Up area. The Ville de Gatineau balloon was first up, at
about 6: 15 PM. At about 6:25 PM, I was inflated and ready to
launch, awaiting the permission of my launch director.
Iris, the young daughter of Yoram Lapid, one of my crew,
suddenly yelled, "It's raining, it's raining!". [wasn't surprised
there would be a brief light shower given the lowering cumulus
which I had seen, and indeed it was over in a couple of minutes
with th.~n shi~.ing in from tbe west again. Secfng no other
INTL
ON CN until 24,00 Sept. 6 1998
Time
vrs WW
EDT Sky Condition
+.~t*~tt+*~
Given the forecast of the aviation meteorologist in Toronto, and
in consideration of Nick Nickerson's forecast for dissipating
showers with other showers to by-pass the launch field and
Ottawa where the winds would take the balloons, the balloon
meisters made the decision to permit the launching of the
balloons, with the agreement of the safety ofticer. No one-not
the aviation and the severe wcather meteorologists in Toronto,
not the public forecastcr in Ottawa, not Nick Nickerson, and not
myself-had forecast a significant risk of thunderstorms.
OITAWA
CYOW 71628
••
IT
TO
DOFF cloud Type
•••••• t*.~.9 •••• * ••• t
+.~*.*w.~~t+.~*~.t.*t
IS.
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26.0
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26.7
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14.9
15.8
16.4
16.5
16.6
16.8
17.3
17.2
17.4
17.2
16.2
24.9
23.7
15.7
IS.8
0700 FEW2S0
0800 FEW2S0
0900 FEW250
1000 FEW2S0
llOO FEW040
1200 SCTOSO
DOD BKNOSO
1400 seroso
1500 BKN050
1600 FEW040
1700 FEW040
1800 SCT040
1818 Ser04S
1838 BKNOS2
1900 BKNOSO
2000 BKN049
2037 OVCOSO
2045 BKN049
2100 llKNO~2
200 OVCOS2
2'252 BKN035
;:<
0 - r-:O .d
F!':WDSC
231
BKN2S0
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FEW250
FEW070
BKN070
BKN070
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15. ·SHRl' 2
2400 BKN051
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FEW2S0
ovcoeo
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What happened? Could it have becn forecast?
Weather forecasters usually want to believe that they can (or
could've) forecast any evcnt that is 11m genuinely extreme, and
*
5
The Crownlines
they tend to take personal responsibility for any erroneous
forecast. It's a natural human reaction. Nick Nickerson did
exactly ~hat, and came to a conclusion as he described during a
briefing the next day that the shower was forecastable. His
suggested explanation for the suddenly developing
thunderstorm was that the "heat-island" effect in Ottawa had
brought the local temperature up to the necessary "trigger
temperature", which would cause the airmass convection [to
start. He suggested that this heat-island effect was forecastable
(it was) and, by extrapolation, so was the shower or
thunderstorm .
The surface and upper level winds were from the WNW­
NWat both Gatineau and Ottawa Int'l; since the
thunderstorm we experienced in Gloucester started over the
Ville de Gatineau as shown by the radar (see next page), the
air that initiated' dig not come from Ottawa at all, but
rather from Hull or further to the WNW. (Of course there is
a smaller heat-island effect in Hull.)
The Lifted Index (see Nick's article in the August edition of
The Crownlines) was forecast by the numerical weather
prediction models to be about zer()-{)r n~utral stability. My
calculations using temperature and humidity surface
observations from Ottawa Int'l, and the forecast upper air
temperature at 18,000 feet, show that the most unstable our
loca I a ifIlilass got was an Index 0 f -I, or -2 if you presume a
2 dcgree heat-island effect. The LI was around zero by 6
PM. Thus, airmass showers and thunderstorms, according
to the LI, should've occurred in the mid-afternoon and been
dying down as the sun went lower. We did indeed have
some weak showers, but these didn't grow to thunderstorm
size, and in fact dissipated over the city. It was only after
the surface temperature was lower, below the trigger
temperature, with the LI was in neutral range, that the
thunderstorm formed.
I don't find this to be a credible explanation for what happened,
for the following reasons:
The maximum temperature inl the city occurred between 3
and 5 PM, about two hours before the thunderstorm. Since
this maximum temperature was insufficient to trigger a
shower, it's hard to see how a lower temperature occurring
later could do so.
There was that small line of showers that passed over the
city prior to 6 PM, visible on the radar, which must have
cooled the city even more than the setting sun would've,
thus further reducing the residual heat-island effect by the
time of the thunderstorm formation after 6 PM. These
showers formed northwest of the ciliy, alild actually
dissipated as they passed over the city (rather than being
reinforced by the heat-island effect).
. . _ • • _. I
.. ,
... ' . . . _
to Q. 0-1 . • " .
Then, what did calise the thunderstorm? If you can't get
spontaneous convection trjggered by daytime heating of the
ground, enhanced by the heat-island effect, you need another
• NQ/." , . / .
'
~~-:':;'-"-O...---':-""""'-'-"T"'<:r-I-=:r-""--;-=:c::r".___
-.,-----~,--"7./::::'.-••,"'['~:O':',
--...
./
;
"-
IS
.2.. . . .
.'.
~~
"~.t: was causinob showers hy forcinoC> the warmer moister
i ~;:-
:~
;, air it was invading upwards. But this was two hours
18 . . . . .l2
100.'-
'UI._
~;)
>1
v-1~:~:= :~
i '.191
;'
.. _ ...
I
~~/
~
Carp Weather Radar at 6:40 PM Sept. 6, 1998, showing the
developing thunderstorm over Hull and Gatineau. The storm
moved southeastward over Gloucester and wetted some
balloons. Ottawa lnt'] Airport is designated by "YOW".
Well, it's clear that the cold front to the northwest
,:::
: :::- :~
..".
11.1·
~ ~::: ~~ :~~::
~i
force to cause the air to rise su fficien tly to become
unstable. What could that have been?
••W
:: away from Gat,ineau when "our" thunderstorm was
Ct'
•• initiated.
::
'411:
. Other possibilities include:
low.level convergence of air in the Ottawa
Valley (hard to see this effect without a lot of
wind obscrvations which we don't have, but it
wowld cause rising air.)
conditional symmetric instability (the suhject of
my graduate thesis), which often occurs in a
warm, moist airmass and forms lines of
showers (but we can't demonstrate this without
more upper air observations of the winds;
however, the lines of showers didn't really have
the characteristics typical of this phenomena in
my judgement, and the thunderstorm wasn't
even really part of a line);
atmospheric gravity waves (like water waves,
'.
except in the atmosphere they often are initiated
by other forced convection, like that on a cold
front, and are often propagated along a stable
layer); gravity waves arc everywhere in the
atmosphere, but we have little information
about them because of the lack of observational
6
The Crownlines
data; and Numerical Weather Prediction models that
form the basis of modem weather forecasting, and run
on the biggest supercomputers, filter them out because
they are too random.
My guess is that it was a gravity wave of some kind that
triggered thunderstorm by forcing some mildly unstable air up
through a somewhat stable mid-atmospheric layer into less
stable air above. As the cold front moved southeastward,
additional thunderstorms formed at positions progressively
further south-even after sunset when the surface temperatures
were all lower. This is consistent with gravity waves.
However, I can offer no real evidence to confmn this gravity
wave theory in this case.
And this is exactly the point-no one can know what caused this
thunderstorm, much less have forecast it ahead of time. Well,
that's the dilemma of meteorology: even if we have a credible
theory about what might have happened, we don't have
sufficient observational information to confmn it, much less
advance information to forecast it. And conventional "now­
casting" techniques failed, because they depend on measuring
the movement and growth of existing showers-which, prior to
the launch decision, were dissipating and moving away. And
the thunderstorm was first observed on the radar after the launch
decision.
It might have been possible to forecast a general risk of a
thunderstorm in the Ottawa area ahead of the cold front, but not
that a storm would form in a specific place. In any case, no
forecast did mention such a possibility, even the aviation
forecast issued at 6:34 PM! So, if you want to be very
conservative, you could always cancel launches when there is
even a slight possibility of a thunderstorm; but then again no
one even suggested this that day for that time and place.
My conclusion is that Nick shouldn't have been so hard on
himself, since his forecast was consistent with the "state-of-the­
art", and not a mistake at all. Nick is a dedicated and good
weather forecaster. A second conclusion is that we all have to
accept that weather forecasting has its limits, and live with that
bit of risk, keeping both our own eyes and our options open
whenever we fly~
we were sport balloonists.
Their story went as follows. Dave had bought a balloon ride far
himself and his mother, Donna, for her birthday and were to fly
that morning. At 05:00 they called the info line as instructed
only to hear that the flight was cancelled due to fog and wind.
They looked outside of their hotel and coulcin't believe their
eyes as it was clear and calm They thought they would take a
chance and ga to Carleton "just in case".
They continued by explaining that Dave lives in Kitchener and
took the bus to Kingston where Donna lives. They rented a car,
drove to Ottawa on Saturday night and ovenighted at a hotel,
specifically for this event. Needless to say, they were very
disappointed and perplexed with the cancellation
After determining that we would launch from Manotick, Long
Island, Sandra came over to the group. We explained their tale,
and after asking us crew if we minded (which I thought was a
really nice thing to do), she offered them a ride-for free. You
should have seen their faces. They were so excited end grateful.
We all traipsed off to Manotick in our mini-convoy of vehicles,
and put Dave to work helping set up and inflate, while Donna
took photos of the whole thing. As they started up in the air all
you could hear was Donna's exclamations of excitement.
The morning was beautiful and they had an amazing flight.
Sandra made a great landing in a clearing in the middle of a
Christmas tree farm near Richmond, and Angela went to get
landowner permission. The landowner, Don, was quite happy to
let us on his property and said his son would love to see a
balloon. His son Joel is about 8 or 9 years old, and has Down's
Syndrome. They joined us in the truck and headed to the
balloon. As soon as Joel saw Jellybean he yelled "Balloon!". He
helped us pack the envelope in the bag, and joined Sandra in the
basket as she dismantled everything. All J0el said the whole
time while in the basket was "All Aboard l ".
We went back to the road and shared champagne and orange
juice with Dave, Donna, Don and Joel (actually Joel only had
the orange juice part) and sang "Happy Birthday" to Donna and
Joel. Donna was so thrilled with the experience she bought us all
breakfast back in Manotick then they went to Ottawa to see a
couple of the museums before heading to Kingston and
Kitchener.
Les Welsh
Balloonist Does Good Deed
Sunday September 13 started off as a regular Sunday crewing
for Sandra Shannon, but turned into quite a gratifying
experience.
We met Sandra at Carleton University at 06:45 and were
watching the piba.1 as a car drove up, stopped and the occupants
got Ol!lt and approached Angela and myself. They asked us jf we
e p
were_o_n_e_o_f_th_e_c_o_l_n_m_e_rc_i_a_l_co_m_p_an_i_e_s_3_n_d_w_.e__x__l_ai_n_ed_th_a_t
__
Some mornings it is hard to get out of bed at the crack at dawn
and head to a field in the damp and cold. 111at morning was
worth every whine and grumble ft took. I would like to thank
Sandra for making my morning as I'm sure Dave, Donna,
Angela, Bryan and Joel would agree ...
Anonymous
I note that it looks like the crew {Angela and whoever else!)
participated very enthusiaslicaHy in doing this good deed!
The Editor
----------~
.
I
The Crownlines
7
The End of Sanity
Friday, October 2-the End of Sanity.
Sanity ~ was my bot air balloon. It has been reclaimed by
nature, in the fonn of a couple of poplars and an ash tree.
It started as a beautiful sunny morning, with a favourable
weather forecast, although the winds were expected to increase
significantly after sunrise. I wantcd to take Dorit Lapid out for
a ride with her friend Sarah from Israel going on hcr first flight.
All went as planned, and we had a beautiful fiJight which took us
out over the Mer steu and bcyond. Conscious of the time, ~
planned to come down as soon as safely possible after passing
Mer Slcu, to avoid the worst part of the ever increasing wind.
cut down the ash (with the landowner's kind consent-as
firewood for him next year) and even then it was quite a chore
getting it out of the tree top.
Oh well, Sanity was nearing the end of its useful life, and its
porosity was making flying more difficult. My aviation
maintenance engineer, Linda Then in Calgary, had told me last
spring during the annual inspection that this might be the last
year it could be certified airworthy. Well, she was right!
And now I've somehow got to get my Sanity back...
Les Welsh
Well, there were cows and crops and horses-we travelled a few
kilometres southeast of Navan before a good forage crop field
presented itself, with no livestock around to bother. I came
down low-and horizontally pretty fast-on the perpendicular
towards the road, and found that the power line on the other side
of the road was several feet higher than they usually are, with
three vertically-stacked wires. Ontario Hydro must have put in
an extra circuit on that road to handle the load, I thought, as I
burned to get positivc buoyancy over the line.
Well, by the time II was able to get moving downward again I
was halfway down the field and I saw that there was a barbed­
wire fence (the balloonist's friend!) at the far edge of the field,
just in front of a woodlot. I decided to bum, first as an attempt
to abort the landing, since the envelope was no doubt going to
get dragged into the barbed wire in the high winds.
Unfortunately, I quickly realized that, with low pressure in the
tanks and a very porous 320-hour old envelope, I wasn't going
to get out of there. So I returned to the option of the landing
approach, but now flying to get onto the other side of the
barbed-wire fence. Well, I did that very nicely, landing quite
safely (for the people) just a bit ill1to the trees.
The wind was by this time too much, however. (Gee, I thought,
I've landed so many times near trees in light winds, it can~t be
that bad... ) The top of the envelope was quickly impaled by the
wind onto the iee-stonned spike-topped ash tree I landed near
to, firmly trapping it. (Maybe by now you've looked at the
picture... ).
Over the next few minutes the envelope was subject to a series
of heart-rending (for me) rips as the wind took the envelop) this
way and tllat. After a few abortive efforts to get it out of ~he
trees with some help from a local fanner, we gavclIp that day
and simply removed the basket. Sarah went to catch her plane
back to Israel, and I got into work to put in a somewhat half·
hearted hal f-day.
Removal took several days as the envelope was really, really,
really impaled/twisted/tied on (0 the trees. In the end, we had to
The End of Sanity (photo: Dorit 'Lapid)
Postscript:
It turned out that [ had landed in a prohibited zone in my hurry to geL down
safely. T'he landowners wcrc very cooperative, however, since' treated them
and their property with due respect, and lhey empathizcd with my situation,
They'rc even considering eoming on a night wilh me once I'm uback on the
horsc" (well. the husband is, anyway-the wife is afraid of hc·ighlS). They did,
howevcr. lcll me that balloonists do often land in lhe proh.ibited 7.One,
frequenlly nol seeking permission from anyone for driving 011 their property,
and OftCIl acting in a rude and disR:speetful manner when '·caughl". Another
lesson 10 he learned-in rural areas, people almosL always know you 'vc landcd
even iflhc landowner isn't around, and lhey are Lold-reinforcing negative
}CrCeplions Lc' on is ... "Rcspect the Landowner", (and f t 1M. look at the
,
PZs!). LEW
Festival de Mongolfier de Gatineau
Who's upside down?
The Crownline
September 4-7, 1998
9
One of these balloons is not like the others...
Gatineau photos by Les Welsh
The Crownlines
The Crownlines
10
London Balloon Festival
For the Shannon Family and Jellybean, August is the month of
travelling to balloon festivals. Friends and co-workers in Ottawa
often wonder if we have both floated into the stratosphere as
evidenced by our lack of presence and communication. Bu~ not
to fear, it is simply a time of 'balloon your brains out festivals'.
The first of the festivals is the London Balloon Festival, London
as in Ontario not the real thing - although ballooning over
London, England would be neat! This is the annual return of our
friend, Mario Bruketa, from Germany, and the festival is
reserved for him to renew and practice his love of ballooning.
Mario lives in Gennany om the shores of the beautiful Bodensee,
without his portion of Jellybean,! So, as part of our friendship,
he pilots Jellybean throughout the London Festival.
We have been fortunate to meet some great crew members
down in London, and each year, we all meet again, to catch up
on the year's passing news and share more balloon experiences.
We were greeted with the joyous news of one family of the
finaliz.ation of the long awaited adoption of a son and their
acceptance as foster parents, and the unhappy news of another
family of their hopefully temporary separation. We re­
acquainted Jimmy, a former crew member from a few years
ago. Jimmy's story was quite poignant at the time - his father
has unexpectedly passed away just days before the festival, but
through his love of balloons and support from the festival
organizers, his mother agreed to allow her then 14-year old son
to crew with us. Jimmy was a strapping boy at that time, and has
now grown into an even bigger boy of 16. Back from a S\lmmer
in Newfoundland, where he was not allowed to crew at Gander
because he was not 18-years of age, he was ecstatic (and we
were too!), to be crewing again at London. Jimmy's one
challenge is finding an alaan clock loud enough ~o rouse him
for morning flights~
Now, I have crewed for Mario during the festival, wilh only the
first flight in the basket in order to type check. Mario on the
balloon. My time as a crew member reminds me of the many
facets of ballooning, andi hopefully makes me a better pilot
through experiencing the balloon from the ground.
This year, however, I was a 'wanted person'. Two new pi lots
lacked their 50 hours PIC, and I was a 'free' pilot, I had the
pleasure of flying w((h these pilots. I had the pleasure of flying
a small 66,000 cu. Ft. and a larger 90,000 cu. Ft. balloon as PIC.
This year again, the weather was great with all flights being
flyable. The only feature missing this year - the morning fog!
Visibility was great! A new feature this year- Mario's family.
For the first time in four years, Cynthia and the children arrive
and Mario is now a ballooning dad'
I
A good time was had by all!
Sandra Shannon
Cornwall Fly Days
A great big thank you goes out to the NCBC, Chris Savard,
Todd Quinlan, and team for the fantastic fly weekend they
organized in Cornwall August 21-23, 1998. Even if the official
Lift-Off went to sleep for a year, it didn't die, due to their
efforts!
Thank you as well to all the sponsors, particularly, Holiday Inn
Express, Cornwall Square Mall, Guindon ESSO, and Bruyere's
Restaurant for their sponsorship. It means a great deal that they
were willing to sponsor us even if it wasn't a festival.
A final thanks goes to the Cornwall area land owners, who
continue to be extremely welcoming.
We look forward to returning next year!
Best laugh at Cornwall goes to Todd Quinlan who told Grant
Aiello, who landed at the Dump, if a passenger asks you to land
a~ the dump, just rcfuse!
Many thanks from the pilots and crews.
Gilles Tremblay
Janet Power
Bill Whelan
Ron Eades
Stephanie GI.over
King Glover
Les Welsh
Grant Aiello
Kenny Shumate
Eugene Sperber and Totto
Submitted by Janet Power
August
2~.
1998 Letter re NCBC Cornwall Fly Days
Fellow Members:
lust a short note to say THANK YOU. Your participation
and cooperation from the past weekend will definately keep
Lift-Off alive in Cornwall. The feedback we received from
the community was very positive and everyone attending the
launches were pleased that this event will not die.
On behalf of myself and the crew of the Diamond Sunrise
Balloon Company, we rake our hats off to you for a job well
done.
Soft landings,
(Signed)
Chris Savard
Chairman Cornwall Lift-Off
---------------------------------
11
The Crownlines
Cornwall Fly Days (August 21-23)
make our understanding of global ozone depletion more precise.
This study will help researchers determine the effectiveness of
measures to reduce ozone-depleting chemicals undertaken since
the Montreal Protoc6J., a.globalagreement to protect the Ozone
• treaty, initiated in 1987 and since
layer. This environmental
signed by over 160 countries, used scientifie research to set
limits for the worldwide production of ozone-depleting
substances to ensure that ozone levels return to normal and do
not become threatened again in the future.
photo by Leslie Manion
Scientific balloon landed today
(Abnospheric Environment Service Press Release)
The Government of Canada is working with the international
scientific community to determine the extent and causes of
atmospheric changes that threaten human health and safety.
Sound scientific data is essential to finding effective solutions to
problems such as depletion of the ozone layer and climate
change. Environment Canada's studies of the ozone layer, which
began in the 1930s, support a world-wide research and
atmospheric monitoring program. Through the leadership of the
Canadian Space Agency, Canada is also involved in research
studying the ozone layer from space.
September 2, 1998 --The MANTRA (Middle Atmosphere
Nitrogen TRend Assessment) research balloon launched by the
Canadian Space Agency and Environment Canada on August
24, landed today at 13:56 (UTe) on Mariehamn Island in
Finland.
The MANTRA project is a collaborative effort led by the
Canadian Space Agency and Environment Canada, in part­
nership with Canadian and American universities and industry.
The balloon experiment is part of the research conducted to
study changes in atmospheric composition that have occurred
over the last 15 to 20 years and will contribute to settling major
issues about the thinning of the Earth's ozone layer.
The balloon, as tall as a 25-storey building and made of
transparent polyethylene as thin as sandwich wrap, carried a
package of instruments up to the top of the atmosphere where
ozone chemistry can be measured directly. All data was
successfully transmitted by the instruments to a ground station
between August 24 and August 25. The balloon will be
recovered by the Government of Canada with the assistance of
the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
The instruments were used to measure the characteristics of
sl!lnlight after passing through the atmosphere and fmm thaI,
detcrmining the abundance of ozone depleting chemicals in the
stratosphere. The most important data are acquired during
sunset and sunrise. This data is now being analyzed by the'
scientists.
About half of the observed ozone loss in the atmosphere can be
definitely attributed to known human-made ozone-depleting
chemicals; whether the remaining half is caused by these
chemicals or other factors is not yet known. Data collected
during the balloon's flight will be used in models that simulate
atmospheric chemistry. The results, once known, will help to
Voyage of the Giant Ozone Research Balloon
Voyage du ballon geant de recherche sur I'ozone
Note:
When I was working for Environment Canada in Saskatoon, I
used to go to watch the launching of the stratospheric balloons
from Vanscoy, just outside Saskatoon. It was invariably in the
middle ofa winter night with a temperature of -20 C. The
balloon would be brilliantly lit by floodlights, and the scene was
truly surrealistic and beautiful. The balloons I saw were only
J.4 million cubic feet or so, far short of the volume of the lost
balloon above at 10 million cubic feet. And anyone watching
this behemouth could do so in daylight in the summer!
I understand that AES held a balloon retrieval party on the
loading dock in Toronto last week once the package was back.
There were only a few bullet holes in the instrument package,
and no instruments were damaged ..
Everyone should think twice about complaining about a balloon
retrieval after this'
The Editor
The Crownlines
12
Balloon Hits Power Lines: 1 Dead
October 5) 1998
From Journal Staff and Wire Reports
An oversize hot air balloon crashed into power lines at Kirtland
Air Force Base today, killing one person and injuring 12 others,
some seriously, authorities said.
Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta spokesman
Tom Garrity said one person was killed in the crash. A medical
nvestigator was called to the scene in a remote desert area of the
base, south of Albuquerque. Garrity said the balloon was not
registered with the fiesta and that he could not provide
infonnation on it.
Balloons not registered with the fiesta take off away from the
official launch site in north Albuquerque. Thirteen people were
in the balloon's oversized wicker gondola, including the pilot,
said Col. Jim Stevens of Kirtland. The huge red-and-yellow
balloon split apart when it hit the power line, and the gondola
broke free and plunged about 18 feet to the ground, Stevens
said. The balloon, which carried more people than most hot air
balloons, was owned by Wayfinder Balloon Rides of
Albuquerque, Stevens said. According to Way finder's site on
the World Wide Web, the company's balloon, also called
Wayfmder, is the largest passenger-carrying balloon in the
Western Hemisphere.
"It's 30% larger than the Goodyear blimp and has four separate
passenger compartments!" according to the Web site.
spokesman said most of the injuries were broken bones. Two
patients were in serious condition at Lovelace Hospital, said
spokeswoman Anne Monson. She identified them as John
Welge, 66, and Melissa Schamb, 29, but had no hometowns or
other infonnation.
Two people -- a 65-year-Old man and a 39-year-Old woman from
Connecticut -- were in stable condition at St. Joseph Hospital,
said spokeswoman Janet Blair.
Two people were taken to Presbyterian Hospital, but the
hospital could not provide conditions.
The accident cut off power to Kirtland. Balloons are not allowed
on the base, but Stevens said officials had expected some would
end up there because of the winds. He said 30 balloons landed
on the base today. The Federal Aviation Administration and the
National Transportation Safety Board were called in. During last
year's fiesta, bumpy landings and collisions injured two people
and resulted in damage to balloons and a house.
Of the four accidents reported to the NTSB last year, three were
blamed on either pilot or passenger error. A final report on the
fourth accident had not been released as oflate last month.
The last fatal balloon accident in New Mexico happened on
Dec.6, 1997, in GallUp. A crew member on the ground was
holding on to a rope handle when the balloon suddenly climbed.
The crew member fell about 40 feet and was killed. Two men
were killed in a balloon accident in 1993, according to NTSB
records. Two men also were killed in a 1990 incident
Submitted by Debbie Wright
According to Way finder, a nonnal sport balloon is about 70 feet
tall and holds 57,000 cubic feet of air; its balloon is 140 feet tall
and holds 250,000 cubic feet of air.
"The basket weighs more than a Cessna airplane," according to
the Web site. "The tremendous size of Way finder gives you the
most stable flying platfonn in aviation history which (sic) to
view Mother Earth."
Hundreds of hot air balloons are in Albuquerque for the 27th
annual balloon fiesta, which began Saturday and lasts through
Oct. II. One woman broke a leg and another woman suffered
rib injuries Sunday when the hot air balloon they were riding in
made a rough landing after being hit by a gust of wind.
The fiesta put a temporary hold on flying events at the balloon
fiesta field this morning because of winds, but some pilots were
flying at their own discretion during that time.
University Hospital, the area's trauma center, received six of (he
injured. The hospital listed two women and one man in serious
condition and another man and woman in satisfactory condition,
with a 64-year-old man still being evaluated. A hospital
Submissions to The Crownlines
The deadline for submissions to the last Crown lines of 1998 has
been advanced to Friday December 4 due to a Board decision to
hold the NCBC Annual General Meeting in association with the
NCBCNew Year's Party.
Items can be submitted to Les Welsh by mail (18 Clarey
Avenue, Ottawa, KIS 2R7), by facsimile (953-8903), or by e­
mail in virtually any fonnat (Leslie.Welsh@ec.gc.ca).
t's easier to write your articles now, while you're thinking about
it! Write about a Fly Day or social (with pictures that'd be
great!). Or an old "memorable flight". Or anything you'd like
to write or photograph to do with ballooning? (I'll scan
photographs or take stills from videos if you'll loan me an
original.)
The Editor
13
The Crownlines
I guess there
could be even
more difficult
retrievals than
. harnn
from Mane
Island ...
•
The Crownlines
14
Proud to Be Canadian
Pin Campaign
The Proud To Be Canadian pin was initiated by B'nai Brith
Canada to raise funds for Canadian unity projects. The money
raised through the sale of the Proud To Be Canadian pin
campaign will support unity issues and initiatives, provide
national recognition to persons and groups and public education
on unity issues, and ongoing consultations at all government
levels.
Once they reach the centre of "Amazing Canada", which will be
in Ottawa, they will receive a Canadian flag on a stick. The
children will then have the opportunity to have a Canadian flag
painted on their face and go for a tethered hot air balloon ride,
which will have a giant Canadian nag wrapped around the
balloon [emphasis by The Editor]. It will be a truly spectacular
view of "Amazing Canada" and Parliament Hill.
... from a promotional document for the Proud To Be
Canadian campaign.
NCBC Sponsorship of "Proud To Be Canadian"
Proud To Be Canadian is a grass-roots project that all Canadians
can beel a part of and become actively involvcd in.
Guess where we fit in!
Proceeds will be administered by B'nai Brith Canada for unity
initiatives and projects celebrating Canada.
The Board, in particular Leslie Manion, is investigating
requircments and opportunities to be a sponsor for the
tethered balloon aspect of "Amazing Canada".
Outline of Campaign
The Canadians Uniting Canada projcct will run from June I­
June 28, 1999, leading up to Canada Dayan July Ist. The
majority of press coverage wi II take place throughout June.
Individual Canadians all across Canada will have the
opportunity to purchase or receive a Proud To Be Canadian pin.
Initial indications are that it would involve non­
commercial balloons (or balloons with advertising
obscured) tethering for hours on Canada Day. Much
remains to be worked-out before the NCBC agrees to
sponsor this, but it looks like a truly Amazing opportunity.
Once they have the pin, they will be invited to sign a flag.
Plan to keep yom schedule next July lSI open for this
event.
The flags will be displayed on Canada Day, July I, 1999.
Les Welsh
Agenda-Amazing Canada
The National Capital Commission (NCC) has the mandate to
conduct the Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa for the
attending public and television audicncc. Thcre havc
traditionally been two official events. The NCC has acceptcd
the Proud To Be Canadian project as the third officiall event to
take place during the July I" oelebrations... in the afternoon, the
official opening will take place at the "Amazing Cimada" site.
On June 28,1999, overnight couriers will send all the flags to
Ottawa. The NCC in Ottawa has given permission for the
display of the flags on LeBreton flats ... The display will be
titled "Amazing Canada"-an overwhelming display of flags in
one location with the signatures ofmiHions of Canadians
declaring that they are Proud To Be Canadian.
The flags will be attached to both sides of six-foot high portable
fencing. The fencing will be set up in the shape of Canada.
Inside of Canada will be a giant maze consisting of the same
fencing and attached flags. People may enter "Amazing
Canada" from either coast (Vancouver and Halifax) and wind
their way throughout Canada arriving at the centre-"Ottawa".
First Ballooning Death in Canada?
Recently, someone whose name I didn't recognize wrote
to the Ottawa Citizen to detail a death by a fall from a hot­
air balloon tethered at Lansdowne Park. Apparently this
involved some kind of acrobatic display, and the person
fell to ncarly the samc point as the bungee-jumper who
was killed this summer.
The amazing thing about the Icttcr was that it claimed this
dcath from a balloon occurrcd 110 years ago, in
September.
Unfortunately, I failed to clip the lellcr or keep track of
when it was published. Did anyone do so, or does anyone
know about this first tradgedy? If so, plc<1sC let me know.
Les Welsh